TASK TEAM S TRUCTURAL

ASPECTS PROCESSUAL ASPECTS • Premises of functionalism • AGIL-scheme • Action systems • Social functions Phase 1 Orientation & Set-up of task team

Best Educational Practice / Quality Education for All

Diagramme 5.3: Phase 1: Orientation of Generic Mentoring Framework

• Composition • Status • Role • Purpose • Goal / objectives • Functions • Socio-metric networks • Communication networks Pre-entry to school Orientation of framework Setting-up of task team Entry to school

The orientation and set-up phase, as outlined in Diagramme 5.3, serves to create a climate in which actors and collectives of actors commit to a process of transformation. This phase is sub-divided into four distinct steps: the pre-entry, entry, orientation of the framework, and set-up of the task team.

 Step 1: Pre-entry

Pre-entry commences with the notion or decision that a specific school is in need of transformation. The urgency thereof depends on the degree of dysfunctionality. Commitment is required to initiate and sustain motivation for transformation. The process of transformation is either initiated on a directive by the Provincial and Local School District Office (chapter 2), or by actors and/or actor collectives (e.g. SGB or SMT) school itself.

Within pre-entry, the primary task of the consultant is to obtain a mandate to enter a particular school. In order to optimise operational success and outcome of transformation support of and resources from Provincial, District and Local Education and Training Councils is required. This is irrespective of who initiated the process.

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it provides opportunity to set the scene for negotiation between the school and various internal and external actors for support, resources and commitment.

 Step 2: Entry

In Parsonian terms, initiating and sustaining a process of transformation will depend on motivation and gratification (chapter 2). In addition to this, their dynamics within and between the various action systems should not be underestimated as their (functional) consequences serve to ensure participation in the process of transformation. Thus, the extent to which actors within a social system can envision gratification will motivate their participation. In practical terms, gratification motivates participation, and, therefore, affect whether all actors or collectives of actors will ‗buy‘ into the process of transformation to ensure a sustained process.

Entry is considered to be a crucial action as various problems (i.e. lack of resources) and barriers (i.e. unwillingness by actors to buy-in) that have been experienced prior to entry, especially those associated with the cause for dysfunctional schooling systems, may hinder effective participation. Many of these problems and barriers are linked to relational, regulatory and infrastructural systemic dysfunctioning (chapter 4); therefore, motivation and envisioned gratification requires attention of the consultant who is tasked to initiate and enable a process of transformation.

Since dealing with problems and barriers is an important facet in the process of transformation, it is crucial that actors and collectives of actors are assured that attention will be given to these. It stands to reason that these cannot initially be dealt with but by providing assurance that these will receive attention, this will serve as a motivation for participation.

Within entry, the primary task of the consultant is to confirm her/his mandate to enter a particular school with the purpose to enable a process of transformation, by amongst other things, conveying that s/he has already negotiated tangible and other support from the Provincial, District and Local Education and Training Councils, and that s/he is committed to the school and its process of transformation. Hereby, the consultant will be able to confirm his/her position and participation.

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 Step 3: Orientation to generic framework

This step enables the consultant to explain the generic mentoring framework to those who initially attend the orientation session. It should be noted that not all those who attend will be elected or designated to the task team. However, their presence is important as they will act as important opinion leaders, and influence participation of other actors with whom they interact after the initial phase of orientation. Therefore, it is crucial that the consultant not only acts professionally but conveys trust.

Besides briefing those who attend to the nature of the generic mentoring system, it is important for them to gain insight as to why a schooling system results in a state of disequilibrium. For example, the consultant in using the AGIL-scheme of Parsons can indicate how internal and/or external factors / conditions (barriers and problems) may affect whole school development. Also, those who are present should receive sufficient information to understand the premises that will guide the process of transformation (this will later be dealt with in detail once the task team is set up). In addition, the consultant needs to motivate the reason for a task team; the latter who will have the role and function to work with the consultant to design and roll out a fit- for-purpose mentoring system within the particular school.

 Step 4: Set-up of the task team

The purpose of set-up is to ensure that a task team comprising of capable, experienced, knowledgeable and motivated individuals is set up to steer the fit-for- purpose mentoring system.

The task team should comprise of designated / elected members (Hattingh et al., 2005) of the SGB, the SMT, educators (as far as possible representing senior, mid- senior, junior and novice educators), and at least two senior members of the RCL; the latter to ensure gender-cohort representation as is often used by South African schools).

If decided, additional individuals can be elected such as parents and members of the community. However, this team should not be too large in order to ensure effectiveness. Additional members can be co-opted to act as sub-task teams who report to the task team. By nature, the task team is essentially a self-managed team,

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and sub-task team a functional team.

In brief, the manifest functions of the task team are to:

 Action grounding for their role and function as a self-managed team. This implies giving attention to status-role definitions, procedural norms, goals and objectives, capacitation for actor-actualisation and team building, and to ensure a strategic plan through which the fit-for-purpose mentoring system can be designed and operationalized for the school; including provision for resourcing.  Create an enabling environment for operationalisation of the fit-for-purpose

mentoring system (Meyer & Fourie, 2004) which includes elimination of problems and barriers that might have negative impact on their own and envisioned process of whole school transformation.

 Develop a mentoring policy for the school.

In a sense, the fit-for-purpose mentoring system operates as a social system. In Parsonian terms, the fit-for-purpose mentoring system interacts with existing subsystems. Therefore, the task team should ensure stability of these existing systems, especially when the process of transformation is embarked upon. In essence, the task team, being a social system, should ensure within itself the effects of adaptation, goal attainment, integration and pattern maintenance towards stability and equilibrium; while its interdependent and integrative nature will or should affect the same within other subsystems within the schooling system. This will ensure that all subsystems work collectively towards WSD and a culture of best educational practice.

More specifically, the manifest functions of the task team are to:

 strategically plan (Goal Attainment) and implement a mentoring system within the school (Meyer & Fourie, 2004), while also taking care of those structural and processual problems and barriers (highlighted in section 3.8) to prevent breakdown in the process of transformation.

 ‗market‘ the mentoring system to the DoE (Fricke, 2008) and to other stakeholders to gain their continued support, commitment and financial and other resources to ensure its sustainability (Latent Pattern Maintenance) (Kajs, 2002; Hattingh et al., 2005).

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departments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and parents, the police service, and interested professional community members who can assist in eradicating problems (e.g. providing educational material, prevent criminal behaviour) that are experienced by the school and impact on a school‘s culture that envisions quality education for all (Guest, 2008).

 enable an organisational culture (Latent Pattern maintenance) that will enable the task team to operationalise the process of transformation amongst other things by creating norms and values to ensure this (Guest, 2008).

 coordinate all the activities (Integration) surrounding liaison between all stakeholders towards achieving the purpose and goals of the mentoring system (Jones, 2005 cited by Guest, 2008).

 develop a monitoring system (Latent Pattern Maintenance) consisting of feedback (Busvannah, n.d.), assessment and benchmarking which should also be indicated in a mentoring policy (chapter 4).

 coordinate the organisational aspects in order for the task team to tackle the problems (barriers) as they arise to ensure that the operation of the mentoring process as well as process of transformation is not hampered (Scholtz, 2006).

It should be noted that from an operational point of view, the generic mentoring framework ensures a generic path towards the eventual design and operationalisation of the fit-for-purpose mentoring system which will be designed by the task team. This implies that from phase two onwards, activities of the task team are focussed on the unfolding of the fit-for-purpose mentoring for their school.

5.3.2.2 Phase 2: The design phase

Diagramme 5.4 gives an indication for the second phase of the framework. However, now it starts to unfold as a fit-for-purpose mentoring system.

129 GENERIC MENTORING FRAMEWORK

TASK TEAM STRUCTURAL ASPECTS PROCESSUAL ASPECTS • Premises of functionalism • AGIL-scheme • Action systems • Social functions Phase 2 Design

Best Educational Practice / Quality Education for All

Diagramme 5.4: Phase 2: Design of Fit-for-Purpose Mentoring System

• Mentor-mentee

composition

• Primary relationship

network

• Socio-metric networks • Status-role & function • Normative framework • Communication networks • Goals / objectives Fit-for-purpose Mentoring system Structural- functional analysis Needs analysis Policy development Plan of action Grounding commitment